LEXINGTON, KY – Don’t Tell My Wife Stables and Monomoy Stables’ My Boy Jack punched his ticket to the Kentucky Derby after a monstrous move in the far turn and a lengthy stretch battle with Telekinesis resulted in victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.
Sent off as the 3-2 favorite from the far outside under Kent Desormeaux, My Boy Jack initially ran mid-pack in the 10-horse field before Desormeaux pulled him up and angled him down to the rail just before the first turn. On the front end, Greyvitos posted uncontested early fractions of :23.28, :47.11, and 1:12.02 before opening up the rail for Telekinesis to make a move. Beginning to accelerate heading into the far turn, My Boy Jack made a powerful move while sweeping past several foes and hit the top of the stretch in full stride. Though Telekinesis appeared to be in prime position to spring the upset, My Boy Jack fought hard and engaged him in a battle to the wire. The Keith Desormeaux trainee hit the wire by a head over Telekinesis in a final time of 1:44.22 for the 1 1/16-mile main track event.
“He was very, very comfortable in his stride, and that was pretty much a repeat of his last start,” Kent said. “Fortunately, I didn’t grab a hot dog at the 1/4 pole, and that made the difference.”
Pony Up gained late to take third by a 1/2-length over a fading Greyvitos, the latter a San Luis Rey fire survivor that was making his first start since winning the $400,000 Remington Springboard Mile last December. Seven Trumpets took fifth by 3/4 of a length ahead of Zanesville, with Honor Up taking seventh about a dozen lengths further back. Navy Armed Guard, Gracida, and Arched Feather completed the order of finish. Battle At Sea and Magicalmeister were scratched.
The Lexington is part of the Road to the 2018 Kentucky Derby prep race season. My Boy Jack earned 20 points for the win (giving him 52 total), with Telekinesis receiving 8 for second, Pony Up 4 for third, and Greyvitos 2 for fourth.
My Boy Jack’s win was his second Derby prep victory (his first being the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes). The 3-year-old son of Creative Cause increased his career earnings to $645,145, a marked return on investment on the $20,000 that Kirk Godby (of Don’t Tell My Wife Stables) paid for him as a yearling.
“Unbelievable,” Godby said. “Everyone knows we came here to get points, and he got the job done today. We’re just thrilled. When I saw Kent bring him out down the backstretch and we were within 6 or 7 lengths, I felt pretty good about it. I was just hoping he had the gas to get home in the short stretch.”
My Boy Jack returned $5 to win, $3.20 to place, and $2.40 to show. Telekinesis brought back $4.60 to place and $3.40 to show, while Pony Up paid $3.40 to show.
